One hundred years

WordPress just launched something crazy (link below).

It’s a 100-year subscription to their domain and website hosting. One full century of their services, which “ensures that your stories, achievements, and memories are preserved for generations to come” …for a clean, one-time payment of *just* $38,000. My first impressions:

What a power play! I’ve never seen a website builder pull that kind of a card, maybe ever? They clearly have a specific person in mind with this offer, and when they successfully connect with these long-game players, it’s gonna be a massive win. In 2023, something like 43% of ALL WEBSITES on the internet are built on WordPress… so even .01% of users signing up would be an insane return.
Kinda weird to bet against technology. In this age of AI and rapid advancement, will people still even want their own website in 10 years? 50 years? What does “locking in” to a technology for that long mean? It’s like paying $38k for the first television (which was patented ~100 years ago) and insisting on using it for the next hundred years.
The sunk cost fallacy would be overwhelming. Canceling something early when you paid for a year is already tough, knowing you’re “wasting” what you paid for. Now imagine you want to stop using this service 32 years into your 100-year purchase. No pro-rated refunds, no discounts… you’re stuck, even if a much better website builder or writing-sharing model comes out in that time (god I hope so).
It takes (unfair) advantage of fear. They’re proposing the ultimate FOMO (fear of missing out, for all the grandpas out there): What if you lose your domain? What if your content isn’t available sometime in the future? Want your grandkids to remember you when you’re gone? Better act now! It’s a powerful kind of incentive, and I’m not sure I like it.
The simplicity is refreshing. No weird up-sells, no offers to upgrade every decade, no tiers of pricing… just one offer and one price. Obviously, this is an ultra-niche scenario, but I’d love to see more services and products take this route of clarity.

WordPress just launched something crazy (link below).

What a power play! I’ve never seen a website builder pull that kind of a card, maybe ever? They clearly have a specific person in mind with this offer, and when they successfully connect with these long-game players, it’s gonna be a massive win. In 2023, something like 43% of ALL WEBSITES on the internet are built on WordPress… so even .01% of users signing up would be an insane return.
Kinda weird to bet against technology. In this age of AI and rapid advancement, will people still even want their own website in 10 years? 50 years? What does “locking in” to a technology for that long mean? It’s like paying $38k for the first television (which was patented ~100 years ago) and insisting on using it for the next hundred years.
The sunk cost fallacy would be overwhelming. Canceling something early when you paid for a year is already tough, knowing you’re “wasting” what you paid for. Now imagine you want to stop using this service 32 years into your 100-year purchase. No pro-rated refunds, no discounts… you’re stuck, even if a much better website builder or writing-sharing model comes out in that time (god I hope so).
It takes (unfair) advantage of fear. They’re proposing the ultimate FOMO (fear of missing out, for all the grandpas out there): What if you lose your domain? What if your content isn’t available sometime in the future? Want your grandkids to remember you when you’re gone? Better act now! It’s a powerful kind of incentive, and I’m not sure I like it.
The simplicity is refreshing. No weird up-sells, no offers to upgrade every decade, no tiers of pricing… just one offer and one price. Obviously, this is an ultra-niche scenario, but I’d love to see more services and products take this route of clarity.

WordPress just launched something crazy (link below).

What a power play! I’ve never seen a website builder pull that kind of a card, maybe ever? They clearly have a specific person in mind with this offer, and when they successfully connect with these long-game players, it’s gonna be a massive win. In 2023, something like 43% of ALL WEBSITES on the internet are built on WordPress… so even .01% of users signing up would be an insane return.
Kinda weird to bet against technology. In this age of AI and rapid advancement, will people still even want their own website in 10 years? 50 years? What does “locking in” to a technology for that long mean? It’s like paying $38k for the first television (which was patented ~100 years ago) and insisting on using it for the next hundred years.
The sunk cost fallacy would be overwhelming. Canceling something early when you paid for a year is already tough, knowing you’re “wasting” what you paid for. Now imagine you want to stop using this service 32 years into your 100-year purchase. No pro-rated refunds, no discounts… you’re stuck, even if a much better website builder or writing-sharing model comes out in that time (god I hope so).
It takes (unfair) advantage of fear. They’re proposing the ultimate FOMO (fear of missing out, for all the grandpas out there): What if you lose your domain? What if your content isn’t available sometime in the future? Want your grandkids to remember you when you’re gone? Better act now! It’s a powerful kind of incentive, and I’m not sure I like it.
The simplicity is refreshing. No weird up-sells, no offers to upgrade every decade, no tiers of pricing… just one offer and one price. Obviously, this is an ultra-niche scenario, but I’d love to see more services and products take this route of clarity.